In this episode we return for version 3.0 of the PalliEM Podcast. I am joined by Caroline Meehan, MD, and Alex Zirulnik, MD, MPH. They are the co-first authors and fellow collaborators in a recent study of the increasing numbers of emergency medicine physicians training in hospice and palliative medicine. We discuss the broader implications of this trend in both fields and reflect on our experiences in dual specialty practice.

Article: https://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(25)00816-4/abstract

Outtro music: Synesthesia by Alaeus

Zirulnik A, Meehan C, Markwalter D, Gabbard J, Tilly A, Zimmerman P, Stafford J, Brooten J. Emergency Physicians and Hospice and Palliative Medicine: A Growing Trend in Fellowship Training. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2025 Dec;70(6):e498-e503. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2025.08.036. Epub 2025 Sep 1. PMID: 40902736; PMCID: PMC12768106.

Episode 12 - The Growing Trend in Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Training Among Emergency Physicians - Caroline Meehan, MD, and Alex Zirulnik, MD, MPH.

Dr. Hoffman is a trauma surgeon in Asheville North Carolina, a hospice medical director, and a founding member of the Surgical Palliative Care Society. We discuss her unique path into the palliative care field and how she uses her skills in the trauma bay and the ICU to help her patients both survive devastating conditions as well helping patients and families transition through events which may be non-survivable, as well as conditions with outcomes which patients would ultimately find unacceptable if aggressive medical interventions were to be pursued. This interview was recorded in October 2023 and previously released.

Episode 11 - Palliative care in the trauma bay - Red Hoffman, MD, ND, FACS

Today I’m joined by Tom Sullivan, MD. Dr. Sullivan is an interventional radiologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who specializes in multiple methods for treating painful metastatic disease, in addition to his general interventional radiology practice. We discuss some of the techniques he uses to treat metastatic cancer pain, particularly for bony metastases, and patients who can benefit from these types of treatments. We also explore enjoyment and inspiration he finds in his work, allowing him to reduce the pain associated with metastatic cancer, and improve the quality of life of his patients.

This podcast was previously released in November 2023

Episode 10 - Interventional radiology and palliative care - Tom Sullivan, MD

In this episode, I meet with Dr. Mariana Murea, MD, who is dual board-certified in both internal medicine and nephrology. As a clinical investigator, her research has focused on addressing gaps in the care of patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on hemodialysis with an emphasis on patient-centric care. While dialysis is not typically associated with palliative care, in today’s podcast Dr. Murea explains how palliative care can be a requisite component of a holistic system of care for end-stage kidney disease.

This episode was previously released in October 2023

Episode 9 - Palliative care and dialysis - Mariana Murea, MD

A trailblazer in bringing palliative care into emergency medicine, Tammie Quest, MD, joins the PalliEM Podcast for our first-ever video podcast episode. She reflects on her career at the forefront of EM/palliative care integration and highlights necessary aspects of resident education that will help prepare future EM clinicians for the increasing needs for palliative care in the emergency department.

This episode was previously released in January of 2023

Episode 8 - The past, present, and future of palliative care in emergency medicine – Tammie Quest, MD 

In this episode Daniel Markwalter guest interviews Jennifer McEntee, a palliative care physician at UNC Chapel Hill about their use of ketamine for inpatient and outpatient palliative care.  Dr. McEntee provides a thorough review of patients who may benefit from ketamine treatment as well as strategies employed at UNC for IV and oral ketamine dosing.  

Episode 7 - It’s All About The Ketamine – Jennifer McEntee MD, MPH, MA.Ed and Daniel Markwalter, MD

In this episode I meet with Dr. Suzanne Bigelow to discuss her journey into developing her palliative care skills as a practicing emergency physician and how she was able to leverage this knowledge to improve the integration of palliative care at her local emergency department, Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett Washington.  

Episode 6 - Exploring Palliative Care Integration in Community Emergency Medicine - Suzanne Bigelow, MD

In this episode, I discuss  with Dr. Stephen Powell how EMS can help to provide acute palliative care interventions.  This is made possible in North Carolina as a result of a statewide EMS protocol that was developed to address the acute needs of palliative care and hospice patients when they or their families call 911.  To learn more about this topic, be sure to check out the additional related materials for the NC EMS Protocol at PalliEM.org [https://palliem.org/].

Episode 5 - Engaging EMS in Palliative Care Delivery - Stephen Powell, MD

In this episode I meet with Buddy Marterre, a surgical palliative care specialist and educator.   We discuss the nature of high risk emergency surgery and how palliative care principles can inform decisions ahead of varying possible outcomes.

Episode 4 - Surgical Palliative Care?  Navigating Options and Providing Value-Concordant Care in High-Risk Emergency Surgery - Buddy Marterre, MD, MDiv 

In this episode I interview Dr. David Wang, system director for palliative care with Scripps Health.  We discuss his journey into palliative care, system considerations in EM/Palliative care integration, and the results of a program he developed incorporating embedded palliative care providers in the Emergency Department.  

Episode 3 - Embedded Palliative Care in the Emergency Department - David Wang, MD

The PalliEM Podcast is a production of PalliEM.org and highlights current topics intersecting the fields of palliative medicine and emergency medicine.